Food Poisoning or Food Borne Illnesses

Submitted by Sharon Hopkins on July 6, 2007

Food poisoning is caused due to bacteria that grows in food which has been stored for too long without proper care and refrigeration. There are several reasons for formation of bacteria like Staphylococcus or E coli in food. The common reasons are, the food has not been prepared in normal and clean conditions, hands have not been cleaned before preparation of food or if the food has not been stored properly and has been left out of refrigerator for a long time.

There are several symptoms of food poisoning and food borne illnesses. Person affected by food poisoning might experience stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, etc. Due to excessive loose motions the person might even experience dehydration.

Food poisoning can also be caused by drinking contaminated water, dairy products that have not been kept in proper conditions.

There are two classes of people more prone to food poisoning than normal adults.
Children and elderly are more prone to food borne illnesses.

Under cooked meat and improperly packed Tiffin can also lead to food poisoning because bacteria will start growing once the food is out of refrigerator.

Contamination in meat can be caused at the time of butchering, whereas contamination in fruits and vegetables is caused at the time of growing or during storage. In order to avoid food poisoning adequate care requires to be taken at the time of using food. Meat should be cleaned and cooked properly enough to remove all the harmful bacteria that could grow.

If the food product smells bad it means it is unusable all together. Care should be taken while buying or opening a packet, color of the meat should be checked to see whether it is proper.

While using green vegetables, it is necessary that these should be thoroughly washed under running water before use.

Even those vegetables and fruits which are going to be peeled at the time of use should be washed thoroughly. At the time of cutting and storing fruits and vegetables, it is necessary to take unused and clean storing bowls. Cooking too, should be done in bowls which have been washed.

For avoiding soap toxins from utensils entering our bodies, it would be wise if you wash the clean utensil with running water before use. This would wipe of any traces of soap on the utensil.

It is better that extra and unused food is immediately put inside refrigerator for reuse so that the growth of bacteria remains at the most minimal level. To avoid food contamination from unused food, it is better to cook only required quantities at the time of eating. Avoiding food poisoning is easy if very simple basics and food storing and preparation are followed.